Time Slip
by Shiruba Neko
Summary: Due to a freak coincidence, Scar and his younger self have switched souls. Back in Ishbal, Scar is able to see his brother again, while his younger self copes with Amestris. This could be difficult...
1. Chapter 1

**Time Slip

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**Chapter 1

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It was raining in Central. Raining _hard_. It had been overcast for several days, but this was the first actual rain, and it had begun with relatively little warning. Because of the suddenness of the downpour, many people had been caught outside unawares. One of these people was a tall Ishbalan who went by the name of Scar. He was currently running through the streets, searching for some kind of shelter from the pouring rain. With his sunglasses on he could barely see, and the strong wind whipped at his clothes, nearly throwing him off balance a few times. After nearly running into a lamp post for what felt like the fifth time, he irritably tore off the glasses with a small growl; it wasn't like anyone would see his eyes or care in this weather, and he needed to be able to see where he was going. As he ran past an alley, he caught sight of something that looked like an overhang. It would do. Turning into the alley and practically sprinting for what little cover the overhang would offer, his foot landed in a patch of slick mud of some kind. He slipped and skidded into a small cluster of stacked metal trash cans, one of them falling to smash into the back of his head. His vision swam as he fought to stay conscious, but within seconds everything had faded into black.

**Exactly 20 Years Earlier…**

A small boy, about ten years of age, walked sulkily through the outer part of the city. The desert sun beat down on him, and he raised his head to stare up at the sky, using his arm to shield his crimson eyes from the glare. Turning his gaze back down to earth, he sighed and ran his fingers through his brown hair. He and his older brother had gotten into an argument, which ended with him stomping out of the house and proceeding to wander the city aimlessly. It had been a stupid fight, he realized now after having some time alone to cool off. He really should go apologize…

'_But only if niisan apologizes first,_' he thought wryly as he turned to run back to his house. But as he turned, his sandal caught on a stone imbedded in the street. He pitched forward, his head slamming into a stone wall in front of him; he was out cold.

* * *

Scar returned to consciousness slowly, letting out a small groan as he realized how much his head hurt. He blearily noticed that whatever he was lying on now was soft, dry, and warm, very unlike what he had been lying on when he had been knocked out.

"Ah, you're finally awake," a familiar voice spoke from somewhere near him…a very familiar voice.

Scar's eyes snapped open immediately; he had been right. His older brother was standing right next to him, "Am…am I dead?"

His brother laughed, "Of course you aren't dead. You had quite a blow to the head; you were unconscious all afternoon and all night."

Scar blinked, then looked around him, and down at his right arm, which was skinny and bereft of the tattoo which had been located there for so long. He was in his childhood home, and he…he was a child again. He looked up at his smiling brother for a few seconds, eyes wide, then pushed himself up and threw his arms around his brother's waist, burying his face in his shirt, "Niisan…niisan, I don't hate you…" tears were running down his face but he didn't care, all that mattered was that this was his brother and he was alive and he had to tell him, "I don't hate you, I don't hate you…"

His brother looked a bit surprised at first, then his expression softened and he put a hand on Scar's head, "Ssshhh, it's okay…I know you don't…"

But Scar didn't stop until he simply fell asleep, his child body exhausted from the tears and the intense emotions of the situation.

* * *

The cold was what woke the young boy up, as well as the wet. He was completely soaked, and it was _never_ this cold in Ishbal. Shivering, he tried to curl up, but he seemed to be trapped underneath several big, cold, hard things. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he was lying on wet, dirty stone, and that the things on top of him seemed to be big metal trash bins, judging by the way they were full of horrible smelling garbage. There was a muscular arm in front of him, the yellow sleeve pushed back to reveal a twining black tattoo. Frightened that someone whom he didn't know was lying there, he jerked upwards, sending the trash cans flying…and the arm moved with him. It was _his_ arm. Feeling suddenly very afraid, he turned down to look at his reflection in a large puddle next to him. The face looking back at him wasn't his own…it was that of a stern-faced adult, with white hair and a large, X-shaped scar on his forehead. Slowly, he moved his hand up to trace the scar, and the reflection copied this movement. It really was him. The boy swallowed audibly, shakily standing up and looking around him, trying his best to stay calm. He was in a dingy stone alleyway, the sky was heavy with dark clouds, and there was nobody around. He thought that he heard noise coming from farther down, so he walked cautiously, if a little unsteady on these tall legs he wasn't used to, down near the end of the alley, peering out onto the street beyond. Quite a few people were walking, but they all had strangely colored hair and eyes, and he shrunk back quickly when a large military jeep zoomed past. He had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there, and he was in this strange body. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, but all that happened was that his arm hurt; it wasn't a dream. Abruptly, he sat down…this was too much for him. Curling his knees into his chest, he began to cry softly. He wanted to be back in his own body. He wanted his niisan. He wanted to go _home_.

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**_A/N:_**_ Aaaaawwwww…Scar gets to see his niisan again! -squeal- Poor little!Scar, though, all freaked out and alone. But he won't be alone for long! Next chapter he'll get some new friends; I'll give you three guesses who they are, and the first two don't count. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: _**_Whoops, forgot to put this in the first chapter. I don't own Full Metal Alchemist.  
_**_A/N:_**_ In this chapter, I gave little Scar a name. Is it his real name? Probably not, but I like it and think it fits him. Big Scar will always be Scar though.

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**Time Slip

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**Chapter 2

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The boy didn't know how long he sat there in the cold, shivering and praying with all his heart to go home. It might have been minutes, it might have been hours, but eventually he was brought out of his thoughts by a loud clanking sound.

"Scar!" a loud voice shouted, causing him to look up. A short boy with golden hair and a red coat, accompanied by a large and intimidating person in a suit of armor, was pointing right at him and looking very angry and accusatory indeed.

The boy was, understandably, confused and frightened by this; he was only ten years old, after all. Standing up, he turned and fled from the pair, nearly tripping over his own feet several times as he ran; he really wasn't used to this body yet.

Edward and Alphonse Elric looked after Scar, who had, contrary to past experiences, just turned and run wildly away from them. And not only that…

Al looked down at Ed, "Niisan…was he _crying_?"

Ed shrugged and took off after Scar's fleeing form, "Tch. Who cares; let's get him!"

As the boy sprinted through the alleyways, he realized that he was being pursued. He didn't know who these people were, didn't know what they wanted from him…apparently they thought that he was somebody named 'Scar'. Well, there was one good thing about this body; it was _fast_, once he got the hang of it. Unfortunately, he heard a loud clap, and suddenly there was a wall blocking off his path. He stopped short and pressed his hands against it, hearing his pursuers getting closer. And then…a whisper in his mind…

'_Place your right hand against the wall…rearrange it…destroy it…_'

He complied, almost in a trancelike state, and with a flash of red light, the wall exploded. The trance was broken, and he fell backwards, looking at the remains of the wall in horror. What…what was going on…? He stared down at his right arm; the tattoos were glowing crimson. He didn't even notice his pursuers stop behind him until the short one spoke again, mockingly.

"What's the matter, Scar? Having some trouble?"

The whisper increased in intensity, '_Kill…kill him…KILL HIM!_'

"No! I don't want to! Get out!" the boy cried, kneeling and clutching his head. What was this? What was happening to him?

Hands were placed on his shoulders, shaking them, and a different, kinder voice spoke, "Hey, snap out of it, Scar-san!"

The boy raised his frightened, tear-filled eyes to look into those of the armored man, his right hand brushed against the cold metal, and suddenly he knew without a doubt that the armor was empty, possessed. Even more terrified now, he threw himself backwards, away from the armor, "Stay away! Don't come near me!"

"What's wrong with _you _today?" the short one leaned down slightly with his hands on his waist, looking at him with a mixture of disdain and curiosity.

The boy couldn't take any more, "I don't know! I don't know what's going on! I woke up and I was in this strange place in this body and then you chased me and a wall came out of nowhere and there's a voice in my head that's telling me to destroy things and kill you and he's empty inside and I don't _know_! I don't know who this Scar person is, and I don't know who you are either! I want to go home!"

The short one seemed slightly stunned by the outburst, and the armor moved towards him, crouched and hands held out in a comforting gesture. The boy flinched away a little, but the armor still managed to wrap him in a gentle hug; after a few seconds of surprise, the boy relaxed slightly. The armor spoke in a soothing voice, "Don't worry, it'll be okay…we'll help you. My name is Alphonse Elric; you can call me Al, though. That's my big brother Ed over there. What's your name?"

"Daniel…" he mumbled quietly as he rubbed some of the tears from his eyes. Al had a kind of comforting aura about him, making the boy feel more at ease.

"Okay…Daniel…where do you live?" Al questioned further.

"Ishbal," Daniel replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Al was beginning to have some suspicions as to who this was, "How old are you?"

"Ten."

"Do you have an older brother?"

Daniel gave Al a curious look, "Yes…how did you know?"

Al looked over his shoulder at Ed, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion as he had. Daniel…he _was_ Scar…or at least, Scar's past self. But…where was the Scar who belonged in this time?

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"Daniel…wake up, Daniel…" a voice, accompanied by gentle shaking of his shoulders, pulled Scar into awareness. For a moment, he forgot where he was and tensed, wondering who was touching him and how they knew his name. Then his memories came rushing back to him and his eyes snapped open. He pushed himself up into a half sitting position. His brother…

"Niisan?" he asked tiredly, squinting against the bright morning light, trying to make out who it was who was standing next to him.

A soft laugh…a _feminine_ soft laugh, "No, guess again."

Oh, no…it was her. Don't look, don't look…Scar looked down at his arm instead. He didn't know if he'd be able to handle seeing her again. Unfortunately, looking down caused him to realize that he'd apparently kicked his blanket off sometime while he was asleep, and that he wasn't wearing anything except what was the Ishbalan equivalent of underwear. In front of her. He felt a blush creeping onto his face; maybe he wouldn't have cared when he was a young boy, but _now_…

She laughed again, "Oh, I'm sorry. Here are your clothes; I'll leave so you can get dressed, then."

He wordlessly took the bundle of cloth she offered him, still not looking up, and listened as she left the room. Only when he heard the door click shut did he look up, his face still slightly red. He got out of his bed and pulled the clothes on, fumbling a bit with the ties and layers; it had been so long since he had worn this kind of outfit that he had nearly forgotten how to put it on. He managed well enough, though, and when they were on, he took a look around his room, running his hands over various surfaces. It had been so long…

"Daniel? You didn't hit your head again, did you?" his brother's laughter filtered through the door, startling Scar from his reminiscing. He shook his head as though to clear it before quietly leaving the room. Nearly drowning in a flood of memories, and therefore not really paying attention to where he was going, he walked directly into his brother and almost fell over backwards. Fortunately his brother caught him by the arm before he did.

"Careful now," he admonished, "you don't want to go knocking your head again so soon, do you?"

Scar shook his head mutely, repressing another outburst of emotion. It was difficult, containing the swirling tempest of joy and sorrow that was welling up within him at the sight of his brother, but he knew that if he burst into tears again it would seem unusual in the very least. But holding back his emotions unconsciously set him back in his older mindset, and his face adopted it's usual frowning, serious expression without him realizing it.

"What's the matter?" his brother knelt down to his eye level, "Are you mad about something? Or are you just being grumpy this afternoon?" he got a glint in his eyes that Scar recognized all too well; it is generally known as the 'Evil Older Sibling Glint'. It was soon accompanied by the 'Evil Older Sibling Smirk', "I think I know how to fix that…"

Scar's eyes widened, and he began to back away slowly; he knew what was coming, even though it hadn't happened in well over seventeen years. But backing away slowly was nowhere near fast enough, and his brother snatched him up…and began to tickle him unmercifully. That was when Scar remembered that he had been a very, very ticklish child. And apparently, he thought before he lost all self-control and let out a very un-Scar-like shriek, even though his adult soul was currently in control of this body, it still retained all of its child reflexes. He was laughing so hard that there wasn't even any sound coming out. Eventually he managed to wriggle out of his brother's grasp, proceeding to run a few steps before tripping over his own feet and landing in a sitting position, breathing heavily and holding an arm protectively over his stomach.

"No…more…tickling…" he gasped out, but was unable to suppress a small smile; tickling tends to do that to people.

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**_A/N:_**_ Squee! Scar-san is ticklish! That scene was spawned when I was tickling my own little brother (hehehe…), and suddenly I began to wonder something: if you tickled Scar, would he laugh? So of course I had to do something like that here. And as for poor little Daniel (by the way, what do you think of that name?)…aaawww, poor little guy…but he's got Al now, so it's all good. As it seems most of you know, I can't answer reviews because of that stupid new rule, but I still love and cherish every single one!_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer: _**_I don't own Full Metal Alchemist.

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**Time Slip

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**Chapter 3

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After a several minutes of reassurance from Alphonse that they weren't going to hurt him, Daniel had calmed down quite a bit, and wasn't nearly so frightened now that he wasn't entirely alone in this strange place. Now he had Al, and Al made him feel safe, although he didn't quite know why. Ed…he wasn't so sure about Ed yet.

"Where am I?" he finally got the courage to ask.

Al replied kindly, "You're in Central city, in Amestris."

"A-mes-tris?" Daniel sounded out the strange word, "That's the country next to Ishbal, right? The one that uses the forbidden art…" he began to look nervous again. If he was in Amestris, that would explain why all the people in the streets had been so pale, with their oddly colored hair and eyes. But…that was such a long way from home…from anything he'd ever known…homesickness washed through him, and he turned his eyes to the ground, hugging his knees to his chest, "I want to go home," he raised his eyes to look at Al with an innocent expression, "How long would it take to get home from here?"

"Ummm…" Al didn't quite have the heart to tell Daniel that Ishbal had been destroyed many years ago, "A very long time…it's hundreds and hundreds of miles away," at Daniel's crestfallen expression, Al continued hurriedly, "But maybe we could help you get back to your proper body and get you home that way!"

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Ed spoke for the first time since Daniel's outburst, "Al, we don't even know what happened to him in the first place! How do you know he didn't just hit his head and get amnesia or regress or something?"

"I don't have amnesia, I remember everything fine," Daniel retorted, "I tripped and hit my head in Ishbal, and woke up here."

"See, niisan? That doesn't sound like amnesia _or_ regression. Maybe…maybe Scar-san hit his head too and…"

Ed interrupted, shaking his head, "Al, that's ridiculous. That kind of stuff only happens in books, not in real life."

"But it makes _sense_, niisan!"

Daniel followed their argument back and forth, not quite understanding what it was they were talking about. It was complicated, whatever it was, and it made his head spin, so he instead focused his attention on something else. Ed's braid in particular. He'd never seen anything like it, with its golden color; it almost didn't look real. He didn't even realize that the argument had stopped until Ed's voice broke his concentration.

"What are you staring at?"

"Can I…" Daniel gathered his courage, still staring in complete fascination at the braid, "Can I touch your hair?"

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Scar sat in 'his' room, staring up at the ceiling. In retrospect, considering how he'd reacted just to seeing his brother, maybe it hadn't been that good of an idea to go outside. He'd only been able to stand it for about fifteen minutes before he'd had to come back inside and hide in his room. He'd seen the streets full of happy, lively people, but in his mind's eye he'd simultaneously seen those same streets destroyed and in flames. The memories…it had been too much, he hadn't been able to take it. He wondered why he'd been brought here. What was he supposed to do? He wanted to change something, wanted to make it so that she didn't die and drive his brother into madness, wanted to stop the war from ever happening…but he couldn't. He couldn't change what had already happened, all his instincts told him that it was _wrong_. But, oh, he wanted to, wanted to more than anything. He buried his hand in his hair, fighting against the temptation; he shouldn't be here, he _knew_ he shouldn't be here…

"Daniel?" his brother's voice was accompanied by a soft knocking on the door, "Are you feeling all right?"

"I…" Scar didn't know what to say. He _wasn't_ feeling all right, but telling his brother that the reason for this was that he was from the future and was having difficulty coping with an overload of painful memories would very likely cause his brother to think that he had gone crazy. He realized that he couldn't change the past…but he would not allow this second chance to speak with his brother go to waste; he knew that it wouldn't last forever, and that it wouldn't happen again. So he raised his head and walked to the door, "I'm fine, niisan."

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If anyone had told Edward Elric that he would one day be allowing Scar to play with his hair, he would have laughed at them long and hard, and then possibly have them committed to a mental asylum. He was still having some trouble with the concept, '_It isn't really Scar…it's just a little kid…in Scar's body…who will one day grow up to _be_ Scar…but it isn't really Scar…Scar is not touching my head…_'

"So, what are we going to do now?" he spoke through slightly clenched teeth, trying his very best to ignore the small tugs on his braid. He had been taken by surprise by the boy's strange request, and before he could answer, Al had agreed for him. He hadn't bothered protesting, since he knew it wouldn't do any good, but he had made it very clear that Daniel was only allowed to use his _left_ hand.

"I'm not sure, niisan…but we have to at _least_ stay with him!" Al's tone was similar to the one he used whenever he found stray kittens and begged to be allowed to keep them.

But this was a bit bigger than just a stray kitten. This was a small child in the body of a wanted serial killer. If the military found him, they would shoot first and ask questions later, and Ed couldn't let that happen; although he _was_ technically Scar, this boy was innocent. He sighed, "All right, I guess we can take care of him, and find out how to fix…whatever this is. Daniel, tell us in detail what happened. And stop playing with my hair."

Daniel dropped the hair, looking a little bit guilty for a second before beginning his story, "I was walking around, and when I went to go back home I tripped and hit my head on a wall. When I woke up it was really cold and my head hurt a lot, and I was underneath a bunch of big metal things full of trash. I sat up and looked at my reflection in a puddle and I wasn't me anymore, I was this person, and I looked out in the street but everyone had weird colored hair and eyes so I hid in this alley and then you chased me."

"Your head hurt when you woke up?" Ed questioned further.

Daniel nodded, "Yeah, a lot, and it still does. In the back, right here," he turned to show the back of his head, pointing at a large bump that was located there.

"Hmmm…" Ed looked at the bump for a few seconds before shrugging, "The theory still sounds ridiculous…but either this is the weirdest case of amnesia in the history of forever, or you were right, Al."

Al nodded, "I told you. But if it's true, we need to fix this. They both need to be in their proper bodies in their proper times, or who knows _what_ could happen. What can we do?"

"I don't know, Al," Ed ran his fingers back through his hair distractedly, looking at Daniel, "I just don't know."

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**_A/N:_**_ Sorry this took so long! Writer's block and schoolwork don't mix too well…-sigh- Anyway, this chapter focused more on Daniel than Scar, because I don't have too many ideas for what's happening over on Scar's end. -sweatdrop- Anybody got ideas, 'cause I feel kinda bad neglecting Scar-san…and as always, I appreciate all your reviews! They brighten my day. :) _


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